Hall of Idols # 3: Paul Stanley

Third installment in a series exploring very important people in my life.

Let me start explaining how this will work: I listed 65 idols of mine. Every Friday (with the exception of those reserved for the Rock Chain posts) I’ll draw one of the names (following a system that it’s really not important to be explained here) and talk about it.

Therefore, the order in which the names will appear doesn’t necessarily shows where they rank in my preference.

As a final introductory note, this is also not a biography article. I’ll just write how I feel about people represented in it, their talent and their importance in my life.

Paul Stanley’s real name is Stanley Harvey Eisen and although I can’t be positive true about it, I strongly think that he chose Paul as his artistic first name because of Paul McCartney, due to his love of The Beatles.

Paul Stanley is to me, first and foremost, the guy responsible for making Gene Simmons multi-millionaire. Without him, all those Kiss songs would be much less brilliant. If you have any doubt about that, just listen to their solo albums.

Paul was blessed with one of the most beautiful and powerful voices in Rock And Roll and with a gift for songwriting that very few can match. And if this was not enough, he was a frontman to rival Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger and Dave Lee Roth. His last solo video, “One Live Kiss” is a masterclass in singing, performing and choosing the right musicians to your band (Gee, does those guys can play and sing or what?).

On a more personal note, when I was growing up as a shy and troubled teenager with problems in high-school, I always relied on Paul’s songs and voice to get me through the days. And the timing was perfect as well. Both “Kiss Unplugged” record and video and the reunion tour were announced when I was 17. I watched the “Unplugged” video and listened to Kiss’ records (especially the songs Paul sang) in a daily basis.

I was lucky enough to meet him in 2008, when I did the Meet and Greet with Kiss in Copenhagen (DEN) and less than two years ago, when I saw him totally by luck having an ice cream in the streets of Kristianstad (SWE). In both situations he was extremely nice and thanked me for my adulation words.

Paul Stanley is the number three on the Hall Of Idols. Welcome to the show, Starchild!